join the ras of other countries like canada, israel, italy, in allowing citizens who are openly gay or lesbian to serve in their country -- to serve their country and in the military, because after all, it is a matter of fairness. in march, my wife and our two daughters and i were deeply touched when we accompanied my colleague john lewis to georgia and many other congressional colleagues on a trip organized by the faith in politics institute. we went to selma, alabama for a memorial, and we saw firsthand the bridge that was made famous by bloody sunday. we saw with our own eyes the highway where congressman lewis and others, including pioneers like dr. martin luther king himself, marched peacefully into the ports of inequality. my family can only imagine how they suffered as the alabama highway patrolman answered their orderly procession with billy clubs and handcuffs. as a non-american who did not grow up in the jim crow era, there is no way i can ever understand the pain and injustice these champions of justice suffered for a righteous cause, nor can i know exactly the suffering of